Can I just say how much I love these two etchings by 18th century artist Thomas Rowlandson? The first is a woman diving into the water from a wagon pulled into the surf to serve as a diving platform. "Venus Bathing" is vigorous, round and robust as she takes a "Fashionable Dip" into the ocean […]
Falling Into Water and Rising Swimming Read More »
Especially when I write. The ciagrette is a dramatic touch too. Honestly, forget the bunny slippers, last night’s t-shirt, and sleepy face washed out in the blue light of the computer screen. This look is to die for and even if the novel doesn’t sell…well, I would still be awesome. *with apologies and much admiration
I Need To Stand Up Straighter Read More »
Woman Carrying A Bull by Vladimir Fokanov I like this image a lot — the wonderful cognitive dissonance between the nude female and the impossible weight of the bull carried so easily on her shoulder. She is not alone you know — there are quite a few such images of women with animals hefted on their
Women Who Shoulder Animals. Read More »
Sometimes in the midst of all our work, it seems impossible to find the breath or the balance to stay upright. I love this video of RIGOLO Sanddornbalance 2012 Art Installation – it has an almost instantly soothing effect. This is the way to work, breathing, focusing, a quiet intensity which balances effort on an
Remembering It’s All About Balance After A Couple Of Long Weeks of Work Read More »
Artful alphabets please me. Here is a beautiful early 18th century Italian alphabet currently housed in Berlin, but happily digitized and available online. I like the the fact that my first intial “M” — is graced by Masks and Satyrs (and mules? stubborn girl). It reminds me of Zizola and the Satyrs in The Innamorati.
Alphabets, Satyrs, and My Name Read More »
Sometimes a photograph or a work of art inspires a character in my work — sometimes I am looking specifically for them, (I have notebooks filled with images for almost every character I have ever written) and sometimes, they simply appear and demand to be included. This guy did just that — muscled his way
What Is It About a Scythe? Read More »
“To the wise, life is a problem; to the fool, a solution.” Marcus Aurelias. I love this image of the dancing fool by Hans Sebald Beham (1549) and I am working to find a way to get him into Zizola’s novel. His body is so expressive — ears back, head turned toward the sky, the
I was quite astonished to see this wonderful mythic and western art of Javier Pinon — the unusual combination of cowboys and Greek myths. This is a collage of Icarus Falling — and it struck me so much because it bears an eerie resemblance to a passage of transformation that I wrote years ago in
Falling From the Sky And The Art of Javier Pinon Read More »
"Do you have any books the faculty doesn't particularly recommend? Flannery O'Connor's commonsense advice on the practice of making writing a habit: "I'm a full-time believer in writing habits, pedestrian as it all may sound. You may be able to do without them if you have genius but most of us only have talent and
Flannery O’Connor: Writing Habits Read More »
“On the Trail of the Warsaw Basilisk” is the sort of unexpected article that gives answer to the age old question, “Where do you get your ideas?” A Smithsonian article provides a fascinating history of Basilisk sightings — from antiquity through the middle ages and Renaissance. The Basilisk is a peculiar hybrid, “a crested snake
Basilisk Hunting in the 16th Century Read More »
